I Sew: Pillow Case Alterations

Last fall, after we moved to our new apartment and I was all in a decorating frenzy, I purchased some pillow covers from Etsy that I thought would add some color to our livingroom. One was a hand painted bird on one side and chevron stripes on the other. The other was a floral made of blues and greens and reds from Nena Von Custom Drapes and Designer Pillows. I didn’t realize at the time, but the 18″ I meant to order was really a 20″, so when it came it didn’t fit the pillow at all. It was way too loose. I kept meaning to get my sewing machine out and fix it, but to be honest, I wasn’t really sure where my sewing machine was and I’m always afraid I’m going to do something that I can’t fix when I sew.

Finally, we had friends coming to town to visit and I just had to get it done. I found my sewing machine and got to work on the pillow case. All I did was turn it inside out, pin two straight lines about an inch and a half in on perpendicular sides and sew along where I pinned. I’d say the hardest part was putting thread on the bobbin before I started. I made sure to go really slowly when sewing so as to keep my lines straight. (I made a scarf a couple years ago and the lines were wiggly all over the place. I’m really impatient and just wanted it to be done and awesome, but I’m pretty sure I just went way too fast.)

Now that I’ve had a successful sewing encounter, I’m open to taking on some smaller things like making burp cloths and bibs for friends before moving into something like making a quilt, which I would actually really love to do! Moral of the story: Don’t be intimidated by sewing, just take your time!